Rafael Nadal Must Win Madrid Open to Maintain Momentum Ahead of French Open

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at Internationaled.org

Published: May 11, 2013

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It is no secret that Rafael Nadal has won seven of the past eight French Opens. Nor is it a secret that he is the best clay-court player in the world. With that said, Nadal must win this week's Madrid Open to maintain the considerable momentum he has built up heading into Roland Garros.

After missing seven months due to a knee injury, Nadal returned with a vengeance in February.

Since surprisingly losing to Horacio Zeballos in the first round of his first tournament back, Nadal has gone on a dominant run. He has lost just one match since then—a hard-fought encounter against Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters final—and he has largely been a dominant figure.

Nadal has four titles through six tournaments and has at least managed to reach the finals in each of the events he has competed in. Nadal has already reached the Madrid Open semifinals, and there doesn't appear to be much resistance in his path. He will face qualifier Pablo Andujar in the semis and then the winner of Tomas Berdych and Stanislas Wawrinka.



Roger Federer was already upset by Kei Nishikori, so fans were robbed of a potential Rafa vs. Fed semifinal. Andy Murray couldn't get past Berdych in the quarterfinals, and world No. 1 Djokovic was upended early in the tournament by Grigor Dimitrov.

That means Nadal is the clear favorite—as if he wasn't already.

Nadal may only be the No. 5 player in the world based on the rankings, but tennis fans know that he's much better than that. He outlasted world No. 4 David Ferrer in the quarters in a match that he could have easily lost. Nadal dropped the first set and was in trouble in the second, but he battled back and buried his Spanish countryman, 6-0, in the third.



If Nadal is able to triumph in the Madrid Open, it will mean five titles in seven tries for Nadal this season, and it will give him all the confidence in the world heading i...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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